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Flight of Fear
Flight of Fear is an indoor launched coaster located in the X-Base sub-section of Coney Mall at Kings Island. The ride opened in 1996 and was originally known as The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear, and themed to the 1995 TV series The Outer Limits. The theme was dropped in 2001 when the license to the show's likeness expired. A clone of this ride exists at sister park Kings Dominion. Story and Ride Experience Story The queue line of the ride is where much of the backstory behind the ride is explained. As guests enter a top-secret military base, they discover that a possible UFO has crashed near the park, and is being investigated by the local government. One of the people in charge of this believes it is a hoax, and is allowing park guests to visit the so-called spacecraft. Others working on the project believe it is a genuine alien spacecraft, and have urged that the guests leave. After being pranked by their coworkers for believing the spacecraft is real, something begins to go wrong. Lights begin to flicker and screens begin to static before the power goes out. With leaving the building no longer being an option, guests are forced to enter the UFO and face any dangers. Inside, they find capsules containing captured park guests at the loading station. A set of cars then approaches, awaiting new visitors, as an alien voice welcomes you aboard in a rather evil manner. Ride Experience The ride begins with the cars being launched into a dark, gamma radiation building where the remainder of the ride takes place. Inside the spaghetti bowl section, there are gamma radiation effects, little lighting and suspenseful sci-fi themed music that can be heard playing in the background. The ride goes through several hills and drops, all in the dark, before finishing with a wild corkscrew. As you approach the exit, a small alien figure can be seen sitting to the right of the cars near a control panel, but it is not made clear if this is the same alien who has been making announcements in the loading station. The same alien announcer then bids you farewell and encourages you to come back soon. Trivia * Flight of Fear is the only coaster at Kings Island that takes place completely indoors. ** As a result, this is the only coaster in the park that is not visible unless you are on the ride. Therefore, riders do not know what to expect compared to the other coasters that offer a view of the structure from various areas of the park. * This is the first launched coaster to open at Kings Island. Almost ten years later in 2005, another launched coaster, The Italian Job: Stunt Track was built. * Due to the main ride taking place in the dark, a lot of former ride parts are stored in the building of this ride. Some of the most notable parts that are said to be stored here include the cars for the now-defunct rides King Cobra ''and ''The Crypt. * There used to be an on-ride camera that activated as the coaster launched, possibly as a way of using the flash as means to simulate being teleported by the aliens. This camera no longer functions, and as a result, the photo booth at the exit has been closed since 2014. * For the 2007 season, Kings Island offered the option to purchase video footage of guests' experience on the ride. It was later removed at the end of the season. ** This makes Flight of Fear ''one of three rides with the option to purchase ride footage. The other two are ''Sling Shot and Mystic Timbers. However, Mystic Timbers ''only provides ride footage of the first lift hill's drop. * Prior to ''Firehawk's opening, the X-Base sign that is now located under the track of The Racer to indicate the location of this ride was previously a sign for this ride. ** The X-Base sign has since been removed due to Firehawk closing at the conclusion of the 2018 season. However, the sign located near one of Coney Mall's carnival games is still present, but has since been updated to only indicate Flight of Fear's presence in the area. * During the beginning of Cedar Fair's ownership of the park, a sign was shown above the entrance labeling the area as "Fort Kinzel." This is a reference to former Cedar Fair CEO Richard Kinzel. The sign has since been removed due to Kinzel's retirement in 2012. * The UFO that guests enter in the queue line is actually only a half-build model. It appears to be full-scale due to mirrors on the wall that reflect the structure to give the appearance of a full-scale model. * While in the queue line, an alien can be seen spying on visitors if one is to look up in the right corner of the room that houses the UFO. * Another alien can be spotted near the end of the ride. Right before the cars approach the unloading station, the figure can be seen to the right, which is also the same side the riders exit at the unloading station. The area is dark, like most of the ride, but the figure is noticeable due to green lights that are nearby. The figure's presence is most likely to imply that this alien was controlling the ride cars. * It is not confirmed, but it is speculated that professional voice actor Jim Cummings provides the voice for the alien leader that speaks to guests before loading and exiting the ride. He is known for voicing Dr. Robotnik in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog ''cartoon. Category:Roller Coasters Category:Steel Coasters Category:Thrill Rides Category:Coney Mall Category:X-Base Category:Indoor Attractions Category:Current Attractions Category:Launched Coasters Category:Premier Rides